Verlander’s stats this season were remarkable. He went 24-5 with a 2.40 ERA and struck out 250 batters in 251 regular season innings with a WHIP of 0.92. He also led the Tigers to the AL Central crown and anchored a pitching staff that was otherwise very pedestrian until Doug Fister came along to help him out.

Verlander was not nearly as sharp in the playoffs, but that doesn’t diminish what was one of the finest regular season pitching performances in baseball over the last decade. Though it’s debatable whether a pitcher should win the MVP, I don’t think anyone debates that Verlander certainly warranted consideration; and in this case enough voters were wowed by his supreme regular season awesomeness to give him both of the AL’s most prestigous regular season awards.

Congratulations to Verlander. I’ll update this post with details of the voting as soon as they are available.

Update: Via @SBNation, Verlander received 13 first-place votes (280 total points), edging out Jacoby Ellsbury (242) and Jose Bautista (231).

Both of these teams are easy to get behind. One team advances, the other will have to spend the winter waiting for their next chance.

The MLB postseason is down to its final four and these two teams could be matching up for a classic.

When Justin Verlander’s Game 1 start vs. the Yankees got postponed after he only threw one inning, it led many Tigers fans to fear that they could lose not having their ace available to pitch in two full games. It turned out, the Tigers did not need Verlander to beat New York and, despite the fact Detroit just finished off the Yankees Thursday night, they will get to use the best pitcher in the world for Game 1 Saturday night. And it will be the fifth day since his Game 3 start, meaning it’s back to routine for Verlander.

The Tigers' ace will be rested and ready to go for Game 1.

Justin Verlander (24-5, 2.40 ERA) finished the season as the American League leader in Wins (24), Earn Run Average (2.40), Walks and Hits Per Innings Pitched (0.920) and is a lock to win the league’s Cy Young Award. In a seven game series, Verlander will most likely get to pitch twice, which could be just the solution for one of the most dynamic offenses in the league.

Josh Hamilton (.298/.346/.536, 25HR, 94RBI), Adrian Beltre (.296/.331/.561, 32HR, 105RBI), Ian Kinsler (32HR, 30SB, 121Runs), Nelson Cruz (29HR, 87RBI), Michael Young (.338/.380/.474 106RBI) and Mike Napoli (.320/.414/.631, 30HR, 75RBI) are the six most dangerous weapons in the Texas line-up, which is not exactly rounded out by a cast of scrubs either.

Verlander is 3-0 with a 1.29 ERA in three career starts in Texas. However, one of his five losses this season came in his only start against Texas this season, as the Rangers defeated the Tigers 2-0 back in April despite Verlander pitching a complete game.

Matching up against Verlander will be “The Straight-Edge Southpaw”, C.J. Wilson who, despite winning 16 games in the regular season, was roughed up by the Tampa Bay Rays in Texas’s only loss of the ALDS, giving up eight runs (six earned) over five innings. He will undoubtedly be looking to bounce back. He more than has the ability to do so.

The Tigers offense, while not quite on par with the Rangers, features AL Batting Champion Miguel Cabrera (.344/.448/.586, 30HR, 105RBI), Victor Martinez (.330/.380/.470, 103RBI), and a very game Jhonny Peralta (.299/.345/.478, 21HR, 86RBI), and will be going up against a surprisingly good Rangers rotation. Although, Tampa does not have the offensive ability of the Tigers’ line-up, Texas was able to dispatch them without too much issue.

Much of that can be attributed to a very effective bullpen with Darren Oliver, Neftali Feliz, Alexi Ogando, Mike Adams and baseball’s best sideburns in Koji Uehara. This group ensures that should a game come down to the bullpen, the Rangers hold the advantage over every team in baseball.

Some facial hair flies a little too close to the sun.

Key to this series may be Delmon Young’s health. Young is listed as day-to-day and it is unsure as to weather or not he will be available for the Tigers line-up.

While the Rangers hold the clear advantage in their offense and bullpen, the Tigers have Verlander and Doug Fister. Fister could well be the deciding factor in the series. Since joining the Tigers, he went 8-1 with a 1.79 ERA. That is, until the ALDS vs. the Yankees where he went 1-1 with an astronomical 6.52 ERA. While two games is the very definition of “small sample size”, Detroit can not afford for Fister’s dominance to come to an end. Beyond CC Sabathia, the Yankee’s pitching was a mess heading into the playoffs. Texas, has one of the most underrated and consistent rotations in all of baseball. For Detroit, the Rangers are much more dangerous than the Bronx Bombers.

So what does this all mean?

The Tigers were in the World Series five years ago versus the Cardinals (a return match is possible) and that team was not as good as the 2011 Tigers. That being said, outside of Verlander, the Rangers are superior in every category. Can Verlander and Fister provide a one-two punch like Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling did a decade ago for the Arizona Diamondbacks? You only need to win four games and those two will start in four games should the series require seven. Not to mention Max Scherzer and Rick Prcello are both quite capable of winning games.

I don’t see Detroit doing it. Fister has been playing over his head for the second half of 2011 and I really see CJ Wilson beating Verlander in Game 1 (not Game 5), possibly in a similar situation as Carpenter bested Halladay. Wilson will not be denied again and neither will the Rangers.

While reality often does not reflect theory, on paper the Rangers are the best team left in the playoffs and they should be able to best the Mo-Town Machine.

ALCS Prediction: Texas in 6 games

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Detroit Tigers v Texas Rangers ALCS TV Schedule and Pitching Matchups

ALCS TV Schedule

• TV Network: FOX
• Game 1: Saturday, Oct. 8 at 7:30 p.m. ET @ Texas
• Game 2: Sunday, Oct. 9 at 7:00 p.m. ET @ Texas
• Game 3: Tuesday, Oct. 11 at 7:30 p.m. ET @ Detroit
• Game 4: Wednesday Oct. 12 at 4:00 p.m. ET @ Detroit
• Game 5: Thursday Oct. 13 at 4:00 p.m. ET @ Detroit
• Game 6: Saturday Oct. 15 at 7:30 p.m. ET @ Texas
• Game 7: Sunday Oct. 16 at 7:45 p.m. ET @ Texas

ALCS Pitching Matchups

• Game 1: Justin Verlander (24-5, 2.40) vs. CJ Wilson (16-7, 2.94)
• Game 2: Max Scherzer(15-9, 4.43) vs. Derek Holland (16-5, 3.95)
• Game 3 (probable): Doug Fister (11-13, 2.83) vs. Colby Lewis (14-10, 4.40
• Game 4 (probable): Rick Porcello (14-9, 4.75) vs. Matt Harrison (14-9, 3.39)
• Game 5 (probable): Justin Verlander (16-12, 2.82) vs. CJ Wilson (16-7, 2.94)
• Game 6 (probable): Max Scherzer(15-9, 4.43) vs. Derek Holland (16-5, 3.95)
• Game 7 (probable): Doug Fister (11-13, 2.83) vs. Colby Lewis (14-10, 4.40)

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* – Justin Verlander photo credit: The Sports Riot
* – Koji Uehara photo credit: Yahoo Sports

Here, in Part 2, I will unveil the starting rotation and bullpen to complete the team.

I placed 3rd in my fantasy league this year.  I had a lineup full of sluggers and a worthy bullpen, but like many real baseball teams, lack of starting pitching doomed my season.

The league champion had Justin Verlander, and the runner-up had Clayton Kershaw.  Verlander and Kershaw were undoubtedly the top two starters in baseball this season, so it’s no surprise they were the backbones of winning fantasy teams.

But how do their standout 2011 seasons stack up to the greats of the last 30 years?

As with the hitters in Part 1 of this post, I tried to find a good statistical blend.  You could stack the top 5 strikeout seasons since 1980, but you would take a big hit in wins, ERA and WHIP.  You could stack wins, but the ERA and WHIP issue would remain.  ERA and WHIP heavy seasons were very low in strikeouts and wins.  You get the idea.

Therefore, the true challenge is to pull the right strings that balances your staff.

To recap, here are some of the (self-imposed) rules I’ll go by:

• Only seasons from 1980-2011 are eligible, since fantasy baseball started, in its modern form, in 1980.
• I’m only including one season from any player.  This rule is only included to keep things interesting and give credit to the maximum number of players.
• I’m choosing these players based on the standard categories in fantasy baseball: batting average, home runs, RBI, stolen bases and runs for hitters, and wins, strikeouts, saves, ERA, and WHIP (walks plus hits/innings pitched) for pitchers.  I know it’s not exactly saber-friendly, but these are the stats fantasy leagues were built on and that we continue to use today.
• The idea is to add up all of the statistics for the team and enable it to best any other combination of the players’ seasons in at least 6 of the 10 scoring categories.
• I haven’t examined every possible combination to see if my team is unbeatable based upon the criteria I have chosen.  I simply did a lot of research and chose the seasons I was most impressed by, and tried to make these statistics as well rounded as possible.
• I challenge any readers to create their own teams to see if they can beat my team in at least 6 out of 10 categories.  Feel free to post your own teams or glaring omissions I may have made in the comments below.

With that out of the way, let’s have a look at my starting rotation.

Starting Pitcher 1:

Pedro Martinez – 1999 – Boston Red Sox

23 wins, 313 strikeouts, 2.07 ERA, .923 WHIP, 0 saves

It truly pained me to leave out Pedro’s 2000 season (1.74 ERA and .737 WHIP), as he was truly unhittable in 2000, and to make matters worse for his opponents, he had impeccable control as well.

But Pedro’s 1999 season had 5 more wins and 20 more strikeouts, both of which are necessary in striking the right balance on this rotation.  His WHIP was still spectacular – although not as laughably fantastic as 2000 – and his ERA was 6th lowest for a starter since 1980.

I can only imagine his wins total if he’d been an innings-eating workhorse like some of the other pitchers you will see on this list.

Starting Pitcher 2:

Randy Johnson – 2002 – Arizona Diamondbacks

24 wins, 334 strikeouts, 2.32 ERA, 1.009 WHIP, 0 saves

The Big Unit could easily have landed on this list a couple of times, but due to my rule of only allowing one season per player, I chose 2002.  In that season, Johnson set a career high in wins and had an ERA nearly a full run lower than his career average —  all while supplying his usually stellar number of punchouts.

What is truly remarkable about Johnson’s 2002 season is that he was 38 years old and still managed to put up elite stats.  To put that in perspective, Pedro Martinez – Johnson’s closest statistical rival of that era – was retired by 37 and managed the amazing season above at age 27.  They were definitely different pitchers – the Big Unit a giant, southpaw fireballer with overpowering stuff and effective wildness; Pedro a diminutive righty who, while a hard thrower, possessed a more crafty repertoire.

Had Johnson been able to limit his walks a bit (he had one of the largest walks/innings ratios of all pitchers in consideration, which eliminated his 372 strikeout 2001 season) he would’ve had, in my mind, the greatest statistical season of a starting pitcher of the last 30 years.  And was there anybody more terrifying to hitters and avian species?

Starting Pitcher 3:

Dwight Gooden – 1985 – New York Mets

24 wins, 268 strikeouts, 1.53 ERA, .965 WHIP, 0 saves

It might be hard for younger baseball fans to understand, but that guy who was on the latest season of Celebrity Rehab had one of the most amazing pitching seasons in baseball history.

At 20 years old, “Doc” Gooden was nearly invincible, dominating National League hitters as if they were high school players.  His massive win total and miniscule ERA were the big factors for including him on this list, but unlike other strong ERA performers (like Greg Maddux, who I’ll discuss further in a moment), he maintained a strong strikeout performance as well.

It’s sad to think about what could have been with Gooden, as he’d amassed 91 wins by the age of 23. Unfortunately, personal demons derailed his surefire Hall of Fame career, Dwight finished with only 194 victories, only pitching until age 35.

Not that it’s any real consolation, but his brilliance in 1985 lives on as one of the greatest fantasy baseball seasons by a starting pitcher of all time.

Starting Pitcher 4: 

Mike Scott – 1986 – Houston Astros

18 wins, 306 strikeouts, 2.22 ERA, .923 WHIP, o saves

Mike Scott was the ace of the 1986 Astros team that lost in the NLCS to the eventual World Series champion Mets (who had their own ace, our friend Doc Gooden).  The series loss was no fault of Scott’s, however, as he pitched two complete games and yielded only a single earned run, winning both and striking out 19 in the process.  Pretty nasty.

As for the regular season – which is what we’re most concerned with for this exercise – Scott was just as ruthless, tallying one of only 13 300+ strikeout seasons since 1980.  The other guys who notched such seasons?  You may have heard of them: Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, Nolan Ryan and Curt Schilling.

Scott also performed admirably in ERA and WHIP, more so considering the high strikeout total.

The only blemish on Scott’s resume is the relatively low win total of 18.  He took the loss 10 times in 1986, and though I wasn’t able to find run support statistics for that season, I have to believe that his was lacking.  There is no other explanation for such a solid season to have so few victories.  At least he won the Cy Young and a spot in the greatest fantasy rotation of all time.

Starting Pitcher 5:

Justin Verlander – 2011 – Detroit Tigers

24 wins, 250 strikeouts, 2.40 ERA, .920 WHIP

Maybe it’s just how recent this one is, or maybe I haven’t taken time to properly compare this to its historical competitors, but I feel like Verlander’s 2011 campaign is a completely balanced, excellent choice.

He is tied for the highest wins total of the period in question (and barely missed his 25th win, despite being rocked during his last start of the season).  His ERA and Ks are on the lower end of the seasons I considered, but not by a drastic margin.  His WHIP was in the top 3 of the 14 pitching seasons I considered.

I also think there’s something encouraging about Verlander’s season.  In the AL, unquestionably the better hitting league, he put up throwback numbers.  I know the spectre of PEDs still looms over baseball, even now, but I am encouraged to see dominant pitching performances again.

If I awarded a little too much credit for that feeling, so be it; I’ll take Justin Verlander on my fantasy team any day.

Also considered:

Greg Maddux – 1995 – My toughest omission and my favorite baseball player ever.  19 wins, 181 Ks, 1.63 ERA, .811 WHIP

Bret Saberhagen – 1989:  23 wins, 193 Ks, 2.16 ERA, .961 WHIP

Roger Clemens – 1997: 21 wins, 292 Ks, 2.05 ERA, 1.03 WHIP

John Tudor – 1985: One of those random great fantasy seasons.  21 wins, 169 Ks, 1.93 ERA, .938 WHIP

John Smoltz – 1996: 24 wins, 276 Ks, 2.94 ERA, 1.001 WHIP

Steve Carlton – 1980: 24 wins, 286 Ks, 2.34 ERA, 1.095 WHIP

Clayton Kershaw – 2011: 21 wins, 248 Ks, 2.28 ERA, .977 WHIP

The Bullpen

Unfortunately, the idea with closers is to stack saves and pretty much ignore every other stat.  If I don’t, it will be far too easy for someone to steal a point from me here.  For this reason, my three choices in this section are going to be very predictable, and by no means who I’d choose in real life to close a game (with perhaps one PED-aided exception).

Relief Pitcher 1:

Francisco Rodriguez – 2008 – Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

2 wins, 77 strikeouts, 2.24 ERA, 1.288 WHIP, 62 saves

I disagree with the idea of the “save.”  Greg Couch at foxsports.com did a much better job summing up its flaws than I ever could.  In fantasy baseball, though, the save is a 10% slice of the pie, and therefore must be considered.

K-Rod put up massive save numbers for the Angels from 2005-2008 despite never being truly dominant, or even the best closer in his own league.

He did have a decent strikeout total, and his ERA wasn’t anything awful. His WHIP is pretty bad, but the same can be said for a lot of closers who rack up saves.  Any wins I can get from closers are simply considered icing on the proverbial cake.

Relief Pitcher 2:

Bobby Thigpen – 1990 – Chicago White Sox

4 wins, 70 strikeouts, 1.83 ERA, 1.038 WHIP, 57 saves

Thigpen held the saves record for 18 years before K-Rod broke it in 2008.  This stands as another excellent example of saves being unjustly hyped as an important statistic.

His stats are a bit of a mixed bag.  His ERA is very good, as is his WHIP, particularly for a reliever.  The four wins are a definite bonus (consider them Mike Scott supplemental wins), and while his strikeout total is low by a closer’s standards, it was his second highest K/9 IP ratio of his career.

Back injuries forced Thigpen to retire at age 30.  Not too many people can say they held a major statistical record in Major League Baseball for 18 years, though.  And not many people (three, to be exact) can say they had one of the greatest fantasy baseball seasons ever as a closer.

Relief Pitcher 3:

Eric Gagne – 2003 – Los Angeles Dodgers

2 wins, 137 strikeouts, 1.20 ERA, .692 WHIP, 55 saves

I had two choices for this third spot, as 2003 Gagne and 2002 John Smoltz each had 55 saves.  It didn’t take long to make a decision.  Seth Rogen’s stunt double it is.

Gagne’s gaudy strikeout total (15 K/9!) was almost enough for me to justify Maddux’s inclusion in the previous section, but ultimately I decided to let the Ks pile up.  Gagne only allowed 59 baserunners in 82.1 innings, which is an absolutely astounding figure.

As I discussed during the hitters portion of this post, it doesn’t matter how you get the stats in fantasy, just that you get them.  Gagne allegedly used steroids during this season (and others), but that doesn’t remove his ridiculous stats from the history books.  And it doesn’t make his 2003 fantasy league owners return their trophies, either.

Also considered:

Dennis Eckersley – 1990: I had to include this just to show everyone what true dominance looks like. None of that K-Rod, 1.29 WHIP stuff.  73 IP, 73 Ks, .61 ERA, .614 WHIP, 48 saves, 4 wins.  Holy schnikes.

Jose Mesa – 1995: 46 saves, 58 Ks, 1.13 ERA, 1.031 WHIP, 3 wins

Trevor Hoffman – 1998: 53 saves, 86 Ks, 1.48 ERA, .849 WHIP, 4 wins

Mariano Rivera – 2004: 53 saves, 66 Ks, 1.94 ERA, 1.081 WHIP, 4 wins

John Smoltz – 2002: 55 saves, 85 Ks, 3.25 ERA, 1.033 WHIP, 3 wins

All told, the pitching staff’s totals are:

121 wins

1755 strikeouts

2.04 ERA

.959 WHIP

174 saves

I think that staff is going to be tough to beat.  Again, I encourage you to make your own teams and try to beat me in 6 of the 10 scoring categories.  It’s really been fun looking back at these spectacular seasons.

If I left someone out, please let me know in the comments below.

(Click to see the Best Possible Fantasy Lineup: Hitters.)

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Follow me on Twitter @keithmullett

www.commercialgradeblog.com

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Image credits: mlb.com, mlblogs.com, usatoday.com, espn.com, astrosdaily.com, worldbestsports.com, si.com, tiricosuave.com

1. I will probably be wrong about the survival of the Big 12.

Three weeks ago, I predicted that the Big 12 conference would survive. But yesterday the Austin American-Statesman reported on a plan to bring Texas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and Texas Tech into what would become the Pac-16 conference.

The plan involves dividing the league into 4 4-team divisions (presumably one with the Texas and Oklahoma schools, one with the Washington and Oregon schools, one with the California schools, and one with Utah, Colorado, and the Arizona schools). More importantly, the plan allows Texas to keep the Longhorn Network by turning it into one of the Pac-12 regional networks.

The Pac-16 is far from a done deal. There’s still a chance that Pac-12 presidents won’t approve the plan. But it could be hard for existing schools to turn down the addition of Texas television money and the potential to recruit more effectively in the Lone Star State.

2. The Big East, as a football conference, is in big trouble.

The Big East has spent the last 6 years trying to justify (not very successfully) its BCS automatic bid. Last year the conference added TCU to improve its football profile. And, before this weekend, it stood to gain its choice of Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri, Iowa State, and Baylor in the event of a Big 12 catastrophe.

Then Pitt and Syracuse decided to leave for the ACC. (And UConn is begging to join them.) Pitt and Syracuse aren’t exactly Miami and Virginia Tech, but their exit will leave the Big East with 7 football schools (8 if it decides to add Villanova when Nova makes the jump from the FCS), 4 of which were in Conference USA a decade ago.

Kansas, Missouri, and company may be better off keeping a version of the Big 12 alive—or hoping for an invitation from the Big Ten—than moving east and joining a dying conference. Perhaps they could even play the aggressor, and talk to West Virginia, Louisville, and TCU about forming a new league. Who knows?

3. The ACC has reaffirmed its identity as a basketball conference.

In 2004 and 2005 the ACC added Miami, Virginia Tech, and Boston College in hopes of becoming a football power conference. That never happened. Only Virginia Tech remained a relevant football power. Meanwhile, all three schools suddenly got much better at men’s basketball. While Pittsburgh and Syracuse both have rich football traditions (Dan Marino, Jim Brown, and so forth), both are currently basketball-first schools. By adding Syracuse and Pitt (and potentially UConn), the ACC likely will overtake the Big East as the best basketball conference (and, as Clay Travis pointed out, the ACC will own women’s lacrosse), but the league’s football product will not improve.

4. Cam Newton will break Peyton Manning’s rookie passing records.

In two games Cam Newton has thrown for a total of 854 yards. That’s more than Alex Smith, Donovan McNabb, and Matt Cassell combined. Newton is on pace to surpass the 3,739 yards that Peyton Manning threw for in 1998, an NFL record for rookies. Keep in mind that, despite Manning’s impressive stats, the 1998 Colts were 3-13.

5. The transitive property doesn’t apply to football.

If you have forgotten the transitive property, here is a refresher. The transitive property of equality says that, if a = b and b = c, then a = c. The transitive property of inequality says that, if a > b and b > c, then a > c; and, if a < b and b < c, then a < c.

This week the Tennessee Titans beat the Baltimore Ravens 26-13. Last week the Titans lost to the Jacksonville Jaguars 16-14. By the transitive property, Jaguars > Titans and Titans > Ravens; therefore, Jaguars > Ravens. We can disprove the transitive property of football by saying that anyone who thinks the Jaguars—who lost to the Jets 32-3 on Sunday and boast a quarterback tandem of Luke McCown and Blaine Gabbert—are better than the Ravens (and, by extension, the Steelers, who lost 35-7 to the Ravens in week 1) is clinically insane.

6. Preseason and early season rankings are meaningless.

You should have known this already, but this truth has been especially obvious so far in the 2011 college football season. Auburn dropped from the rankings when the Tigers nearly lost to Utah State in week 1. But Auburn climbed back into the rankings after defeating Mississippi State—a ranked team. But Mississippi State has thus far done nothing to justify its preseason ranking; Auburn, for its part, gave up an early lead and got thumped by unranked Clemson Saturday.

Saturday morning, analysts were giving Boise State props for the Broncos’ 25-point take-down of Toledo, a team that had nearly beaten #17 Ohio State in the Horseshoe. Saturday afternoon, Ohio State showed, in a 24-6 loss to Miami (FL), that its top-20 ranking probably wasn’t justified. (I hope that people’s opinions of Boise State don’t suffer as a result.) Curiously, the coaches who vote in the USA Today poll gave Ohio State 92 votes and Miami only 39. Apparently preseason assumptions matter more than actual on-the-field results.

Notre Dame opened the season ranked #16 in the AP Poll and #18 in the coaches’ poll then lost to two unranked teams. Both of those teams (#18/#17 South Florida and #22/#21 Michigan) are now ranked, thanks largely to their upsets of Notre Dame. The Irish acquitted themselves this weekend by beating #15 Michigan State 31-13. State had ascended from its preseason #17 ranking to #15 after defeats of FCS Youngstown State and Florida Atlantic. The Spartans are now #23 according to the coaches and #26 according to the AP. (In both polls State received several times more votes than Notre Dame. Those wins over Youngstown State and FAU must have meant a lot to voters.)

College football is the only major sport in which polls help determine the national champion. But the polls are obviously flawed, largely because they rely so heavily on preseason assumptions. Even voters in the Harris Interactive Poll, which doesn’t come out until late September, are influenced by the late-summer assumptions of their colleagues. Alas, there is no way to prevent the AP, or any other media outlet, from releasing a preseason poll; so there’s really no use complaining about it.

7. Jay Cutler still dominates.

This has been established beyond a reasonable doubt. His teammates must have let him down against the Saints. I don’t know, I didn’t catch that game. (On a serious note, keep the Urlacher family in your prayers.) Cutler’s dominance has rubbed off on his alma mater. 3-0 Vandy, after consecutive wins over UConn and Ole Miss, this week received 8 votes in the AP Poll and 11 in the coaches’ poll.

8. Justin Verlander should be the AL MVP.

Verlander yesterday won his 12th straight game, improving his record to 24-5. Verlander is only the seventh pitcher since World War II to reach the arbitrary milestone of 24 wins and 240 strikeouts (and the first since Ron Guidry in 1978). It’s obvious that Verlander is more valuable to the Tigers than any other American League player is to his team. The only thing standing between him and a Most Valuable Player Award is anti-pitcher bias.

Luke Skywalker is real. Science says so.

9. George Lucas was right: It is possible for a planet to orbit two stars.

George Lucas hasn’t been right about much these days. But he deserves credit for introducing moviegoers to the idea that a planet could orbit two stars. Late last week astronomers announced the discovery of a planet that, like Luke Skywalker’s home planet of Tatooine, has two suns. Kepler-16b is a “Saturn-like world” that orbits two stars in a binary system.

10. iCarly may have jumped the shark.

If you watch Nickelodeon and Disney Channel as much as I do, you know that iCarly has long been the class of the tween sitcom genre. But the new season is off to a rough start. While I like the idea of a Sam-Freddie relationship, the execution has been poor. It just happened way too fast, with no build-up. Yes, Sam and Freddie kissed in Season 2. And Sam walked in on Freddie and Carly dancing and appeared to be jealous early in Season 3. But nothing has happened between then and now to make their current relationship seem believable.

Creator Dan Schneider also hasn’t figured out how to use Noah Munck, Gibby, as a full cast member. While I appreciate that Schneider hasn’t allowed Gibby to take over the show Steve Erkel-style, Gibby right now feels like a recurring character who makes way too many appearances. Schneider gave Gibby a major role in this weekend’s episode. But his reason for wanting to break-up Sam and Freddie wasn’t convincing, nor was his sudden change of heart.

My hope is that iCarly will get through this funk and return to tween sitcom dominance. But I’m not optimistic.

In Episode #11, White Sox fan Jerod and Indians fan Ari are joined by Al Beaton of BlessYouBoys.com, the blog of record for the Detroit Tigers at SBNation. Jerod and Ari had hoped that getting Al to discuss the Tigers’ playoff hopes would prove to be a jinx. It didn’t work out so well.

First, here are the updated standings heading into Episode #11.

Remember: the overall winner at the end of the season gets an iPad and a subscription to MLB.tv for next season. And if you’re just finding out about the challenge now, you can always catch up on all the old podcasts and quizzes here. Scores are cumulative and entries can be submitted until the end of the season.

In Episode #11, Jerod and Al attempt to answer six more questions from Ari, and Jerod has some BIG news regarding the current standings. After the trivia portion of the program, Al discusses his thoughts on Justin Verlander’s MVP chances, the underappreciated Miguel Cabrera, and how the Tigers’ pitching staff stacks up for a playoff run.

To follow Al on Twitter, go to @Big_Al_TWFE. You can also follow his football musings at WayneFontes.com.

Click play on the player below to listen.

Click here to take MLB Trivia Challenge Podcast Quiz #11

The link above skips you to the bottom of this page where quiz is embedded. Podcast will continue playing.

A few quick notes:

• The MLB Trivia Challenge is available on iTunes. Listen and subscribe here.
• Be sure to follow the MSF Trivia Challenge Podcast on Twitter: @MLBTriviaMSF.
• If you like the intro and outro music, and I know you will, it was provided to us by the Twin Cats out of Indianapolis. We encourage you to like them on Facebook or check out their music here.

Here are links to all the old quizzes, in case you missed one:

• Episode 1 with Ken Rosenthal
• Episode 2 with Will Carroll
• Episode 3 with Big League Stew
• Episode 4 with Tim Dierkes of MLB Trade Rumors
• Episode 5 with Derek Schultz of XL950 in Indianapolis
• Episode 6 with Deadspin founder Will Leitch
• Episode 7 with Gregg Doyel of CBS Sports
• Episode 8 with Scott Sargent of Waiting For Next Year
• Episode 9 with Jonah Keri of Grantland
• Episode 10 with Jim Margalus of South Side Sox
  

Your Turn to Compete and Win Prizes

Now onto the fun stuff: your chance to match wits with the “experts” and win prizes.

As explained on the rules and information page, we will be rewarding one winner each time a new MLB Trivia Challenge Podcast and quiz are posted. This winner will be awarded as follows:

• Each correct answer nets you one point. Most points wins.
• In the event of a tie, we will choose from the top group at random.
• The winner receives a $20 gift certificate to Chili’s*, which is perfect for a Chili’s Lunch Break.

• Weekly winners can go bold with the new six-dollar lunch break combo at Chili’s. Choose a house made soup or salad and then pick a half Texas Toast sandwich like the Southwestern BLT smothered in cilantro lime mayo.
• See all the great Lunch Break combos at Chilis.com.
• Note: You have ONE WEEK from today to submit yours answers and be eligible for the weekly prize. Next Thursday at 11:59 pm CT, entries are closed and we award a winner.

In addition to the weekly prizes, a grand prize winner will be chosen at the end of the season. Simply put, the grand prize winner will be the person who tallies up the most points throughout the season, regardless of when the quiz is taken.

A few final notes you need to know before we let you have at it:

• LISTEN to the podcast; each week we will be including one bonus question taken directly from our discussion.
• ONLY your first entry counts, for the weekly prize and grand prize.
• MAKE SURE you use the same UserID throughout the season. This is how we will keep track of your scores.
• PAY CLOSE ATTENTION to the instructions after each question. Due to the parameters of the quiz program we are using, and our inability to hand-grade thousands of quizzes each week, we must request that you very specific and particular in how you answer the questions. Thus, you MUST spell names correctly. Think of it this way: attention to detail is paramount in baseball, so shouldn’t it be part of the challenge? Absolutely.

And now, drumroll the please, we give you your chance to answer. Have fun!

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Obviously we cannot post the answers because this is an ongoing trivia challenge.

Check back in two weeks when we’ll post the 12th episode of the MLB Trivia Challenge sponsored by the buyer ready experts at Generational Equity. Remember: someone is winning an iPad and a subscription to MLB.tv when this is all said and done…it might as well be you.

* – Chili’s gift certificate good in U.S. only.

To make the case that Verlander is one of only two players deserving of the AL MVP, Pat enters the debate that arises whenever a pitcher arises as a legitimate MVP candidate: is a starting pitcher, who only plays every fifth game, as valuable to his team as a position player who plays every day?

Would it really be fair to the other players if you won the Cy Young and the MVP? (Photo: Wikipedia)

Pat says, “Yes,” and compares the number of batters a pitcher faces to a position player’s plate appearances. Thus far this season, Justin Verlander has faced 830 batters. By comparison, Jose Bautista has made 529 plate appearances; Dustin Pedroia has made 602, tops in the AL. Based on batters face/plate appearances alone, Verlander has had a much greater impact in the Tigers’ season than either Bautista or Pedroia have had on the Jays’ or Red Sox’ seasons.

But position players are more than just batters. They play a position. While they might only step up to the plate five times in s given game, they spend half of every inning in the field. As of this writing, Pedroia has had 596 defensive chances (put-outs + assists + errors); Bautista has had 292 (211 in right field, 81 at 3rd base).

(Based on these numbers alone, one could argue that infielders have a greater impact on the game than outfielders and that outfielders aren’t viable MVP candidates.)

If you include fielding, Bautista has been involved in 921 plate appearances; Pedroia in 1198. When you add Verlander’s four plate appearances as a batter in interleague play, he has been involved in 834 plate appearances. That’s not far off Bautista’s 921, but it’s nowhere close to Pedroia’s 1198. But these numbers are devoid of context.

In the majority of plate appearances in which a batter puts the ball in play, the pitcher does more work than the fielder who makes the out. And who is more responsible for an out, the fielder who catches a routine pop fly or the pitcher who gets a batter to swing at a bad pitch resulting in the pop fly? If one could devise a statistic that combined the number of plate appearances involving a given player (whether as a pitcher, batter, or fielder) with the degree to which that player was involved in each plate appearance, I suspect that Verlander and Pedroia’s numbers would be much closer.

Then again, when a batter gets on base, he likely will be involved in subsequent plate appearances as a base runner. Curtis Granderson (582 plate appearances as a batter, 309 defensive chances, for a total of 891) has scored 122 runs so far this season. He scored 38 on home runs; the other 84 involved staying busy while his teammates were at the plate. Of course, pitchers must also account for base runners, keeping them honest and such.

There is also the every-fifth-game issue. Who is more valuable: a player who, for 33 games, is the most important person on the field or a player who, for 155 games, makes a handful of plate appearances and defensive plays? It’s an open question.

So who has a greater impact on a team’s season, a pitcher or a position player?

Depending on how you use and interpret the numbers (and depending on which position the position player plays), you could make a convincing argument either way. But keep this in mind: If you follow this line of thinking much further, you will arrive at the conclusion that every league MVP award should go to a catcher.

This card is worth $1.50, in mint condition.

Like pitchers, catchers have work to do every time an opposing batter steps to the plate. Unlike pitchers, many catchers are expected to play every day and to affect the game with their bat. In 2008, Joe Mauer spent 1,203 innings behind the plate, in addition to 633 plate appearances as a batter. If you assume an average of 4 batters per inning, which is low, Mauer was involved in about 5,400 plate appearances that season. (He finished fourth in MVP voting.)

In the summer of 1986 I took up card collecting. The 1986 Topps cards included stats through the 1985 season. After a summer of studying the previous year’s statistics, I decided that there was no way that Ozzie Guillén, with his pedestrian offensive numbers (.273/.291/.358), deserved to win AL Rookie of the Year over Teddy Higuera, who won 15 games as a starter for the Brewers. (I didn’t account for Guillén’s value as a defender since Topps cards didn’t include fielding statistics.) When I complained to my dad about this injustice, he explained to me that comparing pitchers and position players is a fruitless exercise.

Perhaps that’s the real lesson here. Comparing pitchers to position players is like comparing apples to falafel. (For that matter, comparisons between catchers and shortstops or second basemen and outfielders are likewise flawed. And I’m not even going to get into designated hitters.) But until Major League Baseball replaces the league MVP with the Henry Aaron Award for best offensive player (which would be kind of awesome), baseball writers will have to weigh the contributions of unlike players.

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Josh Tinley is the author of Kneeling in the End Zone: Spiritual Lessons From the World of Sports. Follow him at twitter.com/joshtinley or send him an e-mail.

While many players have had solid individual seasons in the American League this year, the race for the AL MVP comes down to just two players: Jose Bautista of the Blue Jays and Justin Verlander of the Tigers.

And I have a message for all of the folks who foolishly and obnoxiously say that pitchers should not merit MVP consideration.

Listen:

What do you think?

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

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AL East

Boston Red Sox-A

The Red Sox have overcome a terrible start to take the lead in the AL East at the break. Their offense has lived up to expectations, as they lead all of baseball in batting average as a team.

New York Yankees-A-

The Bronx Bombers sit a game back of their archrivals in the AL East, though they have a commanding 5-game lead in the AL Wild Card standings. CC Sabathia is having a potential Cy Young season, Derek Jeter just got #3,000, and the

Yanks look poised to make another playoff run.

Tampa Bay Rays-A

Despite losing Carlos Pena and Carl Crawford, Joe Maddon and the Rays remain in playoff contention. They were the last team in baseball to get their 1st win this year, but they’ve bounced back in a very big way.

Toronto Blue Jays-B-

At the break, Toronto has a record of 45-47. Their record wouldn’t be anywhere close to that if it weren’t for Jose Bautista. He leads the MLB in home runs, plus leads the Jays in batting average, RBI, OPS, and runs.

Baltimore Orioles-D

The Orioles success under Buck Showalter at the end of last season definitely hasn’t carried over to 2011. Baltimore has the second-worst win percentage in all of baseball, and they are at the bottom of the AL East yet again.

AL Central

Detroit Tigers-A-

After last year’s huge disappointment, the Tigers sit on top of the AL Central. Justin Verlander has been the team’s MVP with 12 wins, a very impressive 2.15 ERA, and he leads the AL with 147 strikeouts.

Cleveland Indians-A+

Manny Acta would get my vote as the best manager in the AL so far this season. His Indians are half a game back of the Tigers, though they led the division almost the entire first half season. The Indians’ surprise start to the year has finally given Cleveland sports fans something to smile about.

Chicago White Sox-C

The White Sox have underachieved so far this season. Ozzie Guillen has gone off on his usual profanity-laced tirades, Adam Dunn has struggled mightily at the plate, and Chicago’s average hitting and pitching has them sitting 5 games behind Detroit.

Minnesota Twins-C-

The Twins started out the year absolutely horrid, with one of the worst offenses and defenses in all of baseball. Losing stars Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau to the DL was one of the big reasons for the early struggles, but Minnesota is bouncing back. Mauer has returned and the Twins are 24-12 in June and July. Under the leadership of the most underrated manager in the MLB, Ron Gardenhire, Minnesota just might salvage their season in the second half of the year.

Kansas City Royals-D+

The Royals had a great start to the year, but have since fizzled out and fallen to the cellar of the AL Central. Kansas City has some great young talent and could be a playoff contender in the near future. However, Royals fans have to be pretty sick of the franchise’s futility year after year after year after year after year.

AL West

Texas Rangers-A-

The Rangers are trying to return to the playoffs after falling just short of a World Series title last year. Though they lost ace Cliff Lee to the Phillies, the Rangers still lead the AL West, thanks mostly to their dynamic offense. They have the second-highest team batting average in all of baseball, and have manufactured plenty of runs this season.

Los Angeles Angels-B+

After a very disappointing 2010 season, Mike Scioscia and the Angels are back. They are just one game behind the Rangers in the AL West, and look poised to make a run for the postseason. The key for the Halos has been pitching, led by ace Jered Weaver, who has had an absolutely stellar season.

Seattle Mariners-B-

Despite the fact they are 43-48 and have the worst offense in all of baseball, the Mariners are at least improved from last year. Eric Wedge has done a good job in his first year with the club, and his team’s pitching has been terrific. Felix Hernandez has been great again, and Rookie of the Year candidate Michael Pineda leads the teams in wins.

Oakland A’s-D+

Despite some solid pitching as a team, Oakland is sitting at the bottom of the AL West. Their offense ranks towards the bottom in the MLB in almost every major category, and that’s mainly the reason why they are bottom feeding at the break. It also didn’t help that more than a few players had issues with now-former manager Bob Geren. A’s owner Lew Wolff endorsed Geren as manager, but then proceeded to give him the axe on June 9th. The A’s were 27-36 with Geren this season, and haven’t done much better under new manager Bob Melvin, who’s 12-17 with the team.

NL East

Philadelphia Phillies-A+

The Phillies had some huge expectations heading into the year, and they’ve managed to meet or even exceed them. The Philly offense has been lackluster, but they’ve had absolutely dominating pitching to pick up the slack. Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels all have at least 9 wins, over 120 strikeouts, and a sub-3.00 ERA.

Atlanta Braves-A+

In year 1 of the post-Bobby Cox Era, the Braves are doing just fine. They are 3.5 games behind the Phillies in the NL East, but hold a commanding 5-game lead in the NL Wild Card race. The pitching has been phenomenal so far this year, and they lead all of baseball with a team ERA of 3.02.

New York Mets-B+

Under new manager Terry Collins, the Mets finally appear to be heading in the right direction. New York has a winning record heading into the All-Star Break, and Jose Reyes has been spectacular for the team this year. He leads the league in batting average, but is currently on the DL with a hamstring injury.

Washington Nationals-B

The Nationals may be 11.5 game out of 1st place in the NL East, but they are 46-46 and they appear to be finally improving. Jim Riggleman had his team playing some great baseball, but controversially resigned after feeling that the Nationals’ front office didn’t want to him as their long-term manager. I don’t necessarily think what Riggleman did was right, but I don’t understand why the front office wouldn’t want to keep a guy that finally had the struggling franchise on the right path. Anyway, Davey Johnson has them playing decent and with big name prospects Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper coming up in the future, Washington fans have a lot to be excited about.

Florida Marlins-C+

The Florida Marlins have had a roller coaster season. At the beginning of June, they were sitting pretty, but they had a historically awful month, going a dismal 5-23 during June. During one stretch in June, they lost 19 of 20. Then came Jack McKeon to bring some life back to the team. The Marlins are 10-8 under their 80-year old skipper, and riding a 5-game winning streak into the break.

NL Central

Milwaukee Brewers-A-

The Brew Crew are tied for the NL Central lead heading into the break. Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder have led the way on offense, while Yovani Gallardo and offseason acquisitions Shawn Marcum and Zack Greinke have given Milwaukee a solid starting rotation. They have the best home record in the entire MLB, but are tied for the worst road record in the NL. Their 11 road games in 11 days to start the second half may really set the tone for the rest of the year for them.

St. Louis Cardinals-A-

Even though they lost Adam Wainwright for the season and have Albert Pujols’ contract as a distraction, the Cards are tied with Milwaukee for the NL Central lead. This may seem surprising to many, but that’s until they recall that St. Louis has Tony LaRussa, one of the best managers to ever suit up in baseball history.

Pittsburgh Pirates-A+++

The Pirates have been this year’s biggest surprise. They sit a mere 1 game back in the NL Central, and have a winning record at the All-Star Break for the 1st time since 1992. Clint Hurdle has done an unbelievable job in his first year as the Pittsburgh skipper. The Bucs may be able to finally get a winning season if they can continue this pace for the rest of the year, and even better, they have Pittsburgh fans excited about baseball again.

Cincinnati Reds-C+

Coming off an NL Central crown in 2010, the Reds haven’t been able to match last year’s success. They have a losing record going into the break, thanks mostly to sub-par pitching. However, they are only 4 games back and I won’t be surprised to see them in the NL Central race come this September.

Chicago Cubs-D

Barring a miracle, the Chicago Cubs won’t be breaking the Curse of the Billy Goat this year. The Cubs haven’t been able to get anything going this season, and haven’t had too many bright moments. Their pitching has been terrible so far, and the Wrigley faithful have been left disappointed for yet another year. 103 years and counting…

Houston Astros-F-

Quite simply, the Astros have been the worst team in all of baseball. They have an atrocious 30-62 record at the break, which is the worst in the MLB. They also have the worst home record in the MLB, and are tied for the worst road record in the NL. There certainly hasn’t been much for Houston fans to celebrate about.

NL West

San Francisco Giants-A-

The defending champions have a 3-game lead going into the break. Bruce Bochy has his team playing some solid baseball through half of the season. Their offense hasn’t been to good, but the pitching has shined in big time for the Giants. They have the fourth-best ERA in baseball, and are proving to any doubters that last year’s title run was no fluke.

Arizona Diamondbacks-A

Kirk Gibson has given D-backs fans a very pleasant surprise. His team has overachieved under his watch this year and sit 3 games behind the Giants, though they did have the lead for awhile. Arizona’s offense has been the bright spot for the a team that is looking to get back to the postseason for the first time since 2007.

Colorado Rockies-C

Thanks to lackluster pitching, the Rockies are 43-48 and 8.5 games out of first place. Jim Tracy’s squad doesn’t look too sharp this year, and they left many of the Colorado fans disappointed. Ubaldo Jimenez hasn’t been able to come anywhere close to returning to his 2010 form. Unless they pull of yet another big 2nd half comeback, it doesn’t look like Colorado will be celebrating Rocktober in 2011.

Los Angeles Dodgers-D

Marred by their embattled owner Frank McCourt’s financial issues, the Dodgers have been a disappointment in Don Mattingly’s first season as a big league manager. An average offense and defense have left them basically out of the playoff hunt. There will be better years to come for the Dodgers under Donnie Baseball, but right now thinks look pretty bleak for the franchise.

San Diego Padres-D

After having a September meltdown and missing out on the playoffs last year, the Padres haven’t surprised anyone like they did in 2010. Bud Black’s team has had some good pitching, but they have one of the worst offenses in all of baseball. It does not appear that San Diego will be making it to the playoffs for the first time since 2007.

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* – Justin Verlander photo source: OptimusMcPrime.BlogSpot

* – Andrew McCutchen photo credit: Peter Diana via Post-Gazette.com

We break it all down in this week’s pitching planner.

Two-Start Pitchers

Must Starts:

Wandy Rodriguez, Houston Astros

Rodriguez has been solid all year and is coming off a 7 shutout innings against a very strong Rangers offense.  He should be in your lineup this week and most other weeks.

Michael Pineda and Felix Hernandez, Seattle Mariners

Pineda has reached the point of must start every single week and we all should know that King Felix should never be benched.

Tommy Hanson, Atlanta Braves

Hanson is another guy who has reached the top tier of pitching this season.  There is no reason to even consider sitting him this week.

Jordan Zimmermann, Washington Nationals

Zimmermann has quietly recorded 11 straight quality starts and has not given up more than two runs since May 12^th.  Start him every week.

Other Must Starts: CC Sabathia, New York Yankees; Justin Verlander, Detroit Tigers; Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain, San Francisco Giants

Take a Chance:

Vance Worley, Philadelphia Phillies

Since Worley got back from a short stint in the minors he has been absolutely dominant.  Last week, he hurled a gem against the best offense in baseball, giving up just one run over seven innings to earn the win against the Red Sox.  This week, Worley gets the brutally struggling Marlins at home, as well as the Braves at Turner Field.  Both of these are great matchups for the rookie.

Aside from one really rough transition from bullpen back to the rotation, which resulted in poor efforts against the Reds and Mets, Worley has been unbelievable for the rest of the season.  This week is the time to take advantage of it.

Spot Start Options:

Colby Lewis, Texas Rangers

Lewis gets the Oakland A’s offense this week, which alone makes him an option as a spot start.  The Rangers’ righty has also been hot lately.  Since a terrible 1.1 inning beating at the hands of the Twins, Lewis has recovered with three straight great starts against the Braves and Astros.  He will provide solid strikeout numbers against an Athletics lineup that features no one that can threaten opposing pitching.

Carlos Carrasco, Cleveland Indians

Carrasco has been on an incredible run over the last month.  He gave up just 4 runs over 28.1 innings in June.  This week, he gets two starts, although I will not suggest starting him against the Yankees in the first game.  Take your chances with him against Toronto at home.  The Blue Jays have never seen Carrasco before, which is always an advantage for a pitcher.  That combined with Carrasco’s sudden development could provide for a great start for him against the Jays.

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* – Jordan Zimmerman photo credit: Denis Poroy/Getty Images via Yahoo

Two-Start Pitchers

This week there are very few real aces making two starts but there are still viable options.

Must Starts:

Alexi Ogando, Texas Rangers: Ogando is one of the best fantasy pitchers this season, so despite a lower K/9 rate and a tough matchup vs. the Yankees. He belongs in your lineup

Dan Haren, LA Angels: Haren despite an unimpressive win-loss record (5-4) has been really good this year. He should be in the lineup every week, but especially pitching at Safeco and Citi Field this week.

Yovani Gallardo, Milwaukee Brewers: The Brewers righty has turned his season around. Keep him in your lineup this week despite a trip to Fenway.

Justin Verlander, Detroit Tigers: There may not be a guy out there that I would rather have on a fantasy team right now than Justin Verlander. The guy is locked in, and same should go for your lineup.

Other Must Starts: Cole Hamels, Philadelphia Phillies; Jair Jurrjens, Atlanta Braves; CC Sabathia, New York Yankees; Matt Cain, San Francisco Giants

Take a Chance:

Bud Norris, Houston Astros: Norris’ last outing was an eight inning one-hit appearance against a formidable Cardinals lineup. This week Norris should continue his roll against two very weak hitting teams: the Pirates and Dodgers. Norris has had great command up to his last start where he walked five. However, that walk total is the only one he has had over three this year. Norris will give you solid strikeout numbers and a solid ERA, so give him a chance this week.

Josh Collmenter, Arizona Diamondbacks: Collmenter has been unreal since entering the D’backs rotation. His 1.12 ERA in 48.1 innings speaks to that. This week, he gets the Giants and White Sox, two struggling offenses, at home, where he has yet to allow a run in 20.1 innings. In those twenty innings of work at home, Collmenter has only surrendered six hits and two walks. Give him a spin this week if you do not already own him.

Spot Start Options

Dillon Gee, New York Mets: Gee has a 7-0 record and a 3.05 ERA, so it is time to notice him. He has steadily improved him ERA especially in his last three starts when he logged a 1.64 ERA and three wins. Gee gets the Braves this week against whom he has a 1.83 career ERA. He also is pitching at Turner Field, which is a nice advantage for any pitcher to have.

In this weekend’s edition of Today’s Best, we ogle Scream 4 star Hayden Panettiere, look back on a crazy weekend of NBA basketball, and point and laugh at Justin Verlander’s WTF moment on the mound.

EYE CANDY

The fourth edition of the Scream series opened in theaters nationwide this weekend. I remember going to see the first Scream movie way back in the day and really enjoying it. However, there is 0% chance of me seeing this one. Horror movies don’t really do much for me anymore. Great idea by the movie studios to revive a series that is good for what it is; but I am happily no longer in the target market.

The one redeeming quality I see about Scream 4? It features Hayden Panettiere. She’s easy on the eyes.

Image source: TipTopTens.com

If you would like to see more of Hayden, here is a photo gallery from AskMen.com.

LINKS

I actually think this is a really good idea (and I do not play): in Armenia, they are making chess a regular part of the curriculum in schools. Teach kids logic and strategic thinking. Better than a lot of the alternatives.

As you surely know by now, this was a pretty crazy weekend in the NBA. The Bulls and Heat both go serious Game 1 scares, while the Spurs and Lakers both fell at home to their lightly regarded opponents. Bill Simmons summed up the thoughts of many observers with this tweet about the officiating. He later backed off a bit on the Bulls-Pacers game, saying the FT disparity seemed somewhat fair, and backing his claim up statistically.

Speaking of that Bulls-Pacers game, Danny Granger had a quote about Derrick Rose after the game.

Grady Sizemore returned for the Cleveland Indians, smacking a homer and leading Cleveland to another win. In related news, Sizemore looks a lot like James Franco in this picture.

Speaking of Cleveland, what the hell is going on here!?

I just found this, and I know I should save it for a later post, but because I love you all…click and enjoy. (Hint: it has to do with Derek Jeter’s girlfriend.)

Cracked.com counted down the six greatest athletic feats ever – and they aren’t what you think they are.

And finally, this picture from Game 1 of the Atlanta-Orlando series (courtesy of TheBestDamnSportsSiteEver.com, which you should check out)  is pretty incredible incredible:

DYK

Did you know…the longest game of Simon is just 14 moves long? I would have guessed a lot more.

Did you know…the briefcase in Pulp Fiction was supposed to contain diamonds? (At least, according to the original script; the orange light was substituted during filming.)

VIDEOS

Hey Justin Verlander, what the hell is this dude? I also recommend this rant about Verlander and MLB’s video policy, courtesy of our friends at Tauntr.

This is old, but still funny. Karma’s a bitch.

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As always, we end Today’s Best by paying homage to the original inspiration for this post: Hot Clicks by Jimmy Traina.

We also encourage you to follow Today’s Best on Twitter and on Facebook. Also, if you like Today’s Best but hate everything else on MSF, feel free to go F yourself and then subscribe to just Today’s Best here.

Send tips to: tb@midwestsportsfans.com

Baseball is back to relieve us of all the negative talk about the NFL, and to help us forget about our NCAA brackets that went to hell. Today, everyone can say there is reason to believe, as their teams get set to start the 2011 season.

There really is no other day like the Opening Day of the MLB Season. If you’ve ever experienced one, you know what I’m talking about.

If you have not experienced an Opening Day of MLB baseball, you really need to get to the ballpark today or tomorrow and enjoy one, and start living. If the team in your city is playing this weekend, find some tickets, get with some friends or family, and get to the game. Enjoy something grilled, consume an ice cold beverage, have a game of catch and enjoy the aroma and the views of Opening Day.

There will be six games to open the season, let’s take a look at each game:

All times Eastern. Subject to change. All games available on MLB.TV

Atlanta Braves (Derek Lowe) @ Washington Nationals (Livan Hernandez) 1:05pm

TV: Atlanta: SPSO Washington: WDCW DC 50/ MASN

Last season the Braves finished at 91-71, and the Nationals were 69-93. The Braves made it to the playoffs as the NL Wild Card and will start the post-Bobby Cox era, as Fredi Gonzalez takes over as manager. The Nats lost Adam Dunn and signed Jayson Werth. Can the Braves get back in the playoffs, or will the Nationals start the season on a winning note?

Detroit Tigers (Justin Verlander) @ New York Yankees (C.C. Sabathia) 1:05pm

TV: Detroit: FS-D/ESPN New York: YES/ESPN

The Yankees finished 95-67 and were the AL Wild Card last season; the Tigers finished at 81-81 and look to have a better year in 2011. The Yanks again look ready for another post season run. The Tigers will compete in the AL Central with the White Sox and Twins for the division title, which is very important as the Wild Card usually comes from the AL East. This game will be nationally televised on ESPN.

Milwaukee Brewers (Yovani Gallardo) @ Cincinnati Reds (Edison Volquez) 2:10pm

TV: Milwaukee: FSN Cincinnati: FS-O

Milwaukee will look to improve on a disappointing 77-85 record from last season, while the Reds finished 91-71, winning the NL Central, and will look to do the same again this season. The Brew Crew will look to make an early statement against a division rival, as the Reds will try and show why they won it last season. The race in the NL Central will be an exciting one, and these two teams will be right in the thick of it.

Los Angles Angels (Jered Weaver) @ Kansas City Royals (Luke Hochevar) 4:10pm

TV: Kansas City: FSKC

The Angels finished last season 80-82;  the Royals were 67-95. Los Angeles had a disappointing year, and will look to rebound and get back to being the division leader in the AL West. Kansas City heads into the season looking to finish with a more respectable record. The Angels will need every win, as they will battle it out with the Rangers, who made it to the World Series last season.

San Diego Padres (Tim Stauffer) @ St. Louis Cardinals (Chris Carpenter) 4:15pm

TV: San Diego: 4-San Diego St. Louis: FS-M

San Diego was 90-72 last season, one game away from the Wild Card, while the Cardinals finished 86-76. The Padres look to be rebuilding, and the Cards would like to be part of the NL Central race. Both teams lost huge contributors: the Padres lost Adrian Gonzalez to free agency, and St. Louis lost Adam Wainwright to injury. Baseball is a team game, and both of these teams will have to play as one to have any kind of chance at making the playoffs. This game will be nationally televised on ESPN after the Tigers/Yankees game.

San Francisco Giants (Tim Lincecum) @ Los Angeles Dodgers (Clayton Kershaw) 8:00pm

TV: ESPN

The Giants won it all last season, beating the Texas Rangers in the World Series, finishing the regular season at 92-72. The Dodgers finished 80-82, twelve games behind the Giants in the NL West. San Francisco will look to repeat as NL West champs, and get back to the post season. The Dodgers need to stay healthy to compete in the division, and feel like they are ready to challenge the Giants in the West. This game will be nationally televised on ESPN.

Friday’s Opening Day games will be as follows:

All times Eastern. Subject to change. All games available on MLB.TV

Houston Astros (Brett Myers) @ Philadelphia Phillies (Roy Halladay) 1:05pm
TV: Philadelphia: WPHL 17

Pittsburgh Pirates (Paul Maholm) @ Chicago Cubs (Ryan Dempster) 2:20pm
TV: Pittsburgh: ROOT SPORTS Chicago: WGN

Chicago White Sox (Mark Buehrle) @ Cleveland Indians (Fausto Carmona) 3:05pm
TV: Chicago: CSN Cleveland: WKYC-3

Boston Red Sox (Jon Lester) @ Texas Rangers (C.J. Wilson) 4:05pm
TV: Boston: NESN Texas: FSSW

Arizona Diamondbacks (Ian Kennedy) @ Colorado Rockies (Ubaldo Jimenez) 4:10pm
TV: Arizona: FS-A Colorado: ROOT SPORTS

Minnesota Twins (Carl Pavano) @ Toronto Blue Jays (Ricky Romero) 7:07pm
TV: Minnesota: FSN Toronto: SNET

Baltimore Orioles (Jeremy Guthrie) @ Tampa Bay Rays (David Price) 7:10pm
TV: Baltimore: MASN Tampa: Sun Sports

New York Mets (Mike Pelfrey) @ Florida Marlins (Josh Johnson) 7:10pm
TV: New York: SNY Florida: FS-F

Los Angeles Angels (Dan Haren) @ Kansas City Royals (Jeff Francis) 8:10pm
TV: Kansas City: FSKC

Seattle Mariners (Felix Hernandez) @ Oakland Athletics (Trevor Cahill) 10:05pm
TV: MLBN Broadcast. Seattle: ROOT SPORTS Oakland: CSNCA

San Francisco Giants (Jonathan Sanchez) @ Los Angeles Dodgers (Chad Billingsly) 10:10pm
TV: None Listed

Below is a table that analyzes some notable names that you may thinking about selling, or acquiring if you are an astute fantasy baseball player.

Success in fantasy baseball is a lot like success in the stock market: you want to buy low and sell high whenever you can.

So for guys like Mark Teixeira, Grady Sizemore, and Gordon Beckham, should you buy low or stay away and let someone else deal with their struggles?

Mauer is on second base with Justin Verlander pitching. The cat and mouse game, exquisitely captioned by whoever created the video, is a rare glimpse into the game-within-the-game that can be so often overlooked when watching a baseball game.

For some reason, all I can think about right now is how much I would love to hear Hawk Harrelson announcing this sequence.

Video after the jump.

The video (hat tip to Deadspin) is taken from the game two nights ago on September 29th when the Tigers, led by a strong start from Verlander, beat the Twins 6-5. It shows how the Twins got their second run of the game, in the 6th inning, on a sacrifice fly from Kubel.

Mauer finished 1-5 for on the night with a double and an RBI, and as the video captions describe, he probably should have been credited with 1.5 RBIs for his work at second base.

Watch how the catcher keeps calling for new signs or calling time after Mauer motions towards his head with his head (tapping earhole for a curveball, the front of his face for a fastball). The frustration on the faces of Justin Verlander and Jim Leyland is obvious.

No wonder Ozzie Guillen loves the Twins so much.

Enjoy:

Video: Joe Mauer Tipping Pitching to Jason Kubel

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* – Joe Mauer photo credit: Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images North America via Zimbio

But it also means something else: it’s time to dole out some midseason awards.

Since our primary focus here at Midwest Sports Fans is, well, the Midwest, I am going to focus my award giving to just the Central divisions of the American and National League. Let’s get right to it.

NL Central 1st Half MVP: Albert Pujols, and I really don’t need to say anything else about it. His name itself is becoming hyperbole. I want to see a new version of “The Most Interesting Man in the World” commercials featuring Pujols. They could be called “The Most Dominating Presence in Baseball” and include lines like “he once struck out, just to see what it felt like” and “he’s seen less pitches than the World Cup, yet his goatee alone has hit more home runs than Ryan Ludwick.” Albert Pujols is amazing and is not just the NL Central MVP, but the MLB MVP for the first half of 2009.

AL Central 1st Half MVP: This one is not so clear cut. Let’s take a look at a few of the candidates (stats as of July 9th):

• Joe Mauer, Twins: 60 G, 224 AB, .388 BA, 15 HR, 47 RBI, 48 R, 1.118 OPS
• Justin Morneau, Twins: 84 G, 319 AB, .317 BA, 21 HR, 69 RBI, 56 R, .984 OPS
• Jermaine Dye, White Sox: 77 G, 276 AB, .297 BA, 20 HR, 54 RBI, 51 R, .940 OPS
• Zack Greinke, Kansas City Royals: 10-5, 2.12 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 129 K, 29 BB

Obviously I really want to say JD, or even Scott Podsednik, and I think there is an argument to be made for them as their value has been highlighted by the injury to Carlos Quentin, but I have a hard time giving it to anyone other than Justin Morneau or Joe Mauer with the impressive stats both have racked up.

It certainly isn’t Zack Greinke, whose team becomes more irrelevant with each passing week. If his ERA was still 1.00, then maybe. But he hasn’t been as lights-out recently, which is to be expected since he isn’t the greatest pitcher in the history of mankind and all beings, as some have suggested.

While everyone is salivating over Mauer, and don’t get me wrong — he has been great since returning from injury, Morneau has been producing at a high level for 24 more games and over the span of almost 100 more ABs than Mauer. Plus, batting average is an overrated stat, so Mauer gets no bonus points from me because he’s making everyone dream about .400. Both are great candidates, and by the end of the year such a difference in games won’t be so magnified, but right now I have to go with Morneau, who has been the most consistent run producer in the division over the course of the entire first half.

NL Central 1st Half Cy Young: I see two primary contenders: Adam Wainwright of St. Louis and Yovani Gallardo of Milwaukee. Here are the stats:

• Yovani Gallardo, Brewers: 8-6, 109.2 innings, 2.95 ERA, 120 K, 51 BB
• Adam Wainwright, Cardinals: 9-5, 122.1 innings, 3.09 ERA, 110 K, 45 BB

Pretty damn close based on the numbers (and you could probably throw Ryan Franklin in the mix here too, who has been great as the Cardinals’ closer). My first instinct when comparing Gallardo and Wainwright is to go with the guy pitching for the team in first place, but it’s hard to use team record as a tie-breaker considering the Cardinals are only one game up on the Brewers in the standings. Or is it? With two pitchers this close, sometimes it comes right down to head-to-head battles.

Thus far in 2009, Wainwright has absolutely dominated Milwaukee. He is 2-0 in two starts against the Brewers, going 15.1 innings and giving up just a single run while striking out 18. Gallardo, on the other hand, has struggled somewhat against his team’s primary competition for the division title. Despite having a better overall ERA and WHIP than Wainwright, Gallardo is 0-1 against St. Louis. Sure, he pitched 8 innings of shutout ball while only giving up 2 hits in the teams’ May 25th battle, so you can’t blame him for the no decision there, but that game was not head-to-head against Wainwright like the July 7th game was. In that battle, Gallardo lasted only five innings and gave up four runs in a 5-0 loss for the Brew Crew.

So maybe that one game difference for the Cardinals is the difference between Wainwright and Gallardo. I’m giving the 1st half Cy Young for the NL Central to Adam Wainwright.

AL Central 1st Half Cy Young: Lots of legit contenders here. Let’s list them out with stats:

• Mark Buehrle, White Sox: 9-2, 3.14 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 114.2 innings, 65 K, 25 BB
• Joe Nathan, Twins: 0-1, 1.13 ERA, 0.75 WHIP, 33.1 innings, 22 saves, 43 K, 7 BB
• Justin Verlander, Tigers: 9-4, 3.59 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 115.1 innings, 141 K, 35 BB
• Edwin Jackson, Tigers: 6-4, 2.59 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, 114.2 innings, 93 K, 33 BB
• Zack Greinke, Royals: 10-5, 2.12 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 127.1 innings, 129 K, 29 BB
• Fausto Carmona, Indians: 2-6, 7.42 ERA, 1.81 WHIP, 60.2 innings, 36 K, 41 BB

If we were giving this out to the pitcher who has been the most generous to opposing hitters and teams, Fausto Carmona would win in a landslide. And yes, this is the same Fausto Carmona that went 19-8 with a 3.06 ERA in 2007. But obviously I only listed Carmona here to throw more salt in the multitude of open wounds Cleveland’s start has given its fans. More on him later.

Back to the subject at hand. Zack Greinke obviously has the best numbers, but I just don’t believe in handing out awards to players whose teams are not in the playoff race. There is a different level of pressure when your team is expected to win and when games are meaningful. If the award were Most Outstanding Pitcher, it’s Greinke by a landslide. It’s not, and it clearly states in the fine print of my own personal Cy Young and MVP criteria that last place teams (Cleveland sucks so bad they don’t count anymore) cannot have Cy Young or MVP winners, so we’ll let Willy Wonka tell Zack Greinke what he’s won:

(By the way, credit goes to Hugging Harold Reynolds for tweeting that video yesterday. I hadn’t seen that in forever, but always loved Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Charlie Bucket is a golden god.)

Honestly, I can’t find a whole lot to separate Buehrle, Verlander, and Jackson. All three have had excellent seasons. I’d give the edge to Buehrle because he owns the Tigers and Verlander sucks against the White Sox, and both have more wins than Jackson, but it’s really splitting hairs between those three.

My 1st half AL Central Cy Young goes to Joe Nathan, who has just be out-of-this-world awesome. The Twins’ pitchers (other than Nick Blackburn, who is having a very good yet under-the-radar season) have struggled this season. Francisco Liriano, Scott Baker, and Kevin Slowey have all dealt with injuries and bouts of ineffectiveness. The one constant (throughout all the years Ray, has been baseball) has been Joe Nathan at the back end of the bullpen making sure that when the Twins do have a late lead, they do not surrender it.

I’m not a huge proponent of giving Cy Youngs to closers who typically pitch less than a third of the amount of innings a top-line starter does, but Joe Nathan has given up only 18 hits in 33.1 innings and is 22-24 in save opportunities. He has been beyond dominant and there is no way the Twins would be as close to first place as they are without him. It’s a competitive field, but Nathan is the choice.

NL Central Manager of the 1st Half: Tony LaRussa, and I don’t think it’s close. Ken Macha has done a nice job in Milwaukee keeping the Brewers in the race without C.C. Sabathia or Ben Sheets, but LaRussa has the Cardinals in first place with one legit hitter in his lineup. Yes, that hitter is the great Pujols, but look at the rest of the team’s offensive stats. Putrid. And it’s not like their pitching has been lights out. Ryan Franklin has been a revelation in the bullpen, and getting Chris Carpenter back has helped, but this is still a rotation that counts on guys like Kyle Lohse, Joel Piniero, and Todd Wellemeyer. That LaRussa has the Cardinals in first place is a testament to his managerial genius (and to Pujols’ utter dominance, of course).

AL Central Manager of the 1st Half: I really want to say Ozzie Guillen, and I think that he’s done a great job, but my vote goes to Jimmy Leyland of Detroit. It’s not just that the Tigers are in first place, it’s that they’ve been able to rebound from last season’s disappointment with a far less potent offensive attack and without the benefit of an above-average bullpen. Leyland has navigated his way through the struggles of Dontrelle Willis and Armando Gallarraga, plus had to deal with Magglio Ordonez’s sharp decline. Leyland essentially has a lineup with only three hitters who have been consistent producers (Miguel Cabrera, Brandon Inge, Curtis Granderson), yet there the Tigers sit, a couple games up and eight games over .500.

2009 has been an excellent rebound season for Detroit, and Leyland deserves credit as the man steering the ship. He also deserves credit for having one of the most hilarious old school baseball cards ever. The hat, the mustache, the sunburned face…I’m not sure if he’s at Spring Training, a train conductor, or working at a carnival.

And with that, let’s transition into a few “alternative” awards for the first half.

NL Central Least Valuable Player of the 1st Half: Milton Bradley wins this one. Signed in the offseason after putting up terrific numbers in Texas, The Angry One has only gotten 203 ABs so far this season and hasn’t done much with them. He’s hitting .236 and, even worse, is slugging only .374. Ouch. Plus, he is being his usual distracting self and getting into public pissing matches with his manager when he’s not forgetting how many outs there are in an inning. Like most things having to do with the Cubs, you just get the feeling that this is not going to end well.

AL Central Least Valuable Player of the 1st Half: Fausto Carmona of the Indians. We touched on his stats above, and they really say it all. This guy has just gone straight downhill since 2007 and the Indians have to be wondering if he’ll ever be able to recapture the ability that made him appear to be one of the bright young pitching stars in the big leagues. Despite a rough 2008, a lot was expected out of Carmona this year. Well, the Indians have gotten a lot out of him…it’s just all been bad.

AL/NL Central Worst Manager of the 1st Half: Hands down Eric Wedge. You need look no further than this site, where our very own AJ Kaufman calls for Wedge’s head in pretty much every article he writes. The Indians were expected to contend for the AL Central crown, yet they are 13.5 games out and 19 games under .500 already.

AL/NL Central Manager with the most potential to give his kids truly awful awesome names: Eric Wedge. If he had any sense of humor he would name his kids Orange, Potato, and Cheese. No such luck though. As it is, he and his wife named their kids Ava and Dalton Cash. Oh well.

Come to think of it though, Dalton Cash Wedge is a pretty sweet and unique name. The kid is either going be a scrappy middle infielder/#2 hitter in the majors or the lead actor in his generation’s version of Dawson’s Creek. Well done Eric. (See, we don’t always criticize you on Midwest Sports Fans.)

AL/NL Central Quote of the 1st Half: This one is easy and goes to (who else?) Ozzie Guillen. And there were a few of them, all of which were gloriously derogatory towards the team from the North Side.

“But one thing about Wrigley Field, I puke every time I go there. That’s just to be honest. And if Cub fans don’t like the way I talk about Wrigley Field, it’s just Wrigley Field. I don’t say anything about the fans or anything now. But Wrigley Field, they got to respect my opinion. That’s the way I feel…I don’t care if they hate me. They don’t feed my kids. If they hate me, that’s cool.”

That’s just a great quote, although the part about Ozzie not talking about Cubs fans may not be entirely true. Ozzie also had this gem:

“…our fans are not stupid like Cubs fans.”

AL/NL Central Home Run Call of the Year: Hawk Harrelson, two days ago. Hell yeah!

That’s all I’ve got. Sorry for not even mentioning your teams Reds, Astros, and Pirates fans…they’ve all been pretty uninteresting so far this year, at least as far as I’m concerned. But feel free to add your own midseason awards in the comments.

The White Sox bring out the brooms again tonight, and then play the Twins in a pivotal pre-All Star Break series. As Hawk might say, I loooove baseball.

* – Jim Leyland baseball card image credit: Vinewood Sports Cards

* – Albert Pujols photo credit: Urban Shocker